SHANGHAI, China – Yum China Holdings, Inc. today announced the appointment of Johnson Huang as its first Chief Customer Officer. The creation of this leadership position is part of the Company’s strategic initiatives to integrate customer centricity into the Company’s brand-driven culture.
Warton Wang, currently the Company’s Chief Development Officer, will succeed Mr. Huang as General Manager, KFC. These appointments will be effective on May 1, 2022.
Mr. Huang, who currently serves as General Manager, KFC, joined the Company in 2006 and has held a variety of leadership roles. Under Mr. Huang’s leadership, KFC grew significantly and has been recognized as an innovative quick service restaurant brand in many dimensions.
Previously, while serving as the Company’s Chief Information and Marketing Support Officer, Mr. Huang helped Yum China build an industry-leading IT function and a powerful digital infrastructure.
In his new capacity, Mr. Huang will focus on building capabilities to better understand and serve customer needs as well as spearhead cross-functional initiatives, such as cross-brand customer loyalty programs. He will also oversee the Company’s emerging brands – Lavazza, COFFii & JOY and Taco Bell, and continue to report to Joey Wat, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer.
Warton Wang, currently the Company’s Chief Development Officer, will become the General Manager, KFC. Mr. Wang is a 24-year veteran with deep operations expertise, who first joined KFC in 1998 as an operations management trainee. He held various operations roles within KFC, including as Market Manager of Hangzhou KFC, the largest regional market of the KFC brand. Mr. Wang became the Regional Vice President, KFC Field Operations in 2015, and in that position he led various initiatives to improve KFC’s business operations and enhance restaurant efficiency. In 2020, Mr. Wang was appointed as the Company’s Chief Development Officer. He was instrumental for the innovation of the Company’s multiple store formats and growth strategy.
Ms. Wat commented, “Digital is a core growth enabler of Yum China to unlock tremendous opportunities. Johnson’s new leadership role will enable us to continuously strengthen our digital capabilities and elevate the customer experience. With his strong technology background and deep understanding of the organization, Johnson is most suited for this new role. Johnson’s proven track record of leading KFC in the past five years gives us confidence that he can transform our emerging brands into future growth engines for Yum China.”
Ms. Wat continued, “Warton is a home-grown leader with deep operations experience. He progressed his way up the operations career path into the leadership team. In his previous capacity, he demonstrated strong leadership, strategic thinking and the ability to turn opportunities into tangible results. He has led the innovation of store formats that accelerated store network expansion and improved new store payback. I am confident that Warton will catapult the brand to the next level of success. Warton will also be an inspiration for our young operations talent working on the frontlines.”
